Gymwear brand goes bust and staff made redundant
Lucy Locket Loves was founded by personal trainer Lucy Arnold in Sheffield
- Published
A sportswear brand set up by a young entrepreneur has gone into liquidation with debts of £900,000.
Lucy Locket Loves, which started in Sheffield, sold leggings, shorts and gym clothing from a warehouse in Dronfield.
Founder Lucy Arnold said the business had been voluntarily wound up and that staff had lost their jobs.
The owners of the premises she leased have seized the building due to unpaid rent.
Ms Arnold provided customers with an update on recent issues faced by her business in a statement on the Lucy Locket Loves website.
She said the company was unable to meet quarterly rent payments demanded by the landlords.
However, she added that she was hoping to relaunch the brand later this year with a new website, offices and fresh designs.
"Facing no operational ability and mounting financial obligations, we made the difficult decision to enter voluntary liquidation," she said.
Staff were unable to access the warehouse after 10 May. The cost of living, supply chain issues, floods at the premises and rising import costs were blamed for the situation.
Employees have been made redundant, something that has "personally been the most upsetting part of this process", Ms Arnold added.
Relaunching
The Lucy Locket Loves brand also sells gym bags and other items of clothing
In 2020, Ms Arnold was included in Forbes' 30 Under 30 list of successful young entrepreneurs.
The personal trainer told Forbes she was a self-funded businesswoman who began selling leggings in 2017 while she recovered from a back injury.
By 2019 she employed 15 staff, including her parents, and had a turnover of £2.5m.
In documents filed to Companies House as part of the liquidation, it was stated that Lucy Locket Loves owed £898,800 to creditors including banks and funding partnerships.
More than £70,000 in tax was outstanding and almost £16,000 was owed to Royal Mail. Around £20,000 in wages and holiday pay was due to staff.
Ms Arnold added in the statement: "The rebuilding phase will take time, especially as I am also caring for my newborn daughter, but I am dedicated to restoring the service and products you love."
The liquidation was confirmed on 28 May, but Ms Arnold said she was unable to comment publicly until "legal restrictions" ended.
Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, external, X (formerly Twitter), external, and Instagram, external. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk, external.